Bathroom project - Work in progress

[davemul]

Apologies mods of this needs to go elsewhere.. please feel free to move it or bin it!

Riiiight.. here goes....

We've been in our first house nearly 2 years now. We've (well ... more like I'VE!) done everything else bar the bathroom. It's an old 1800's cottage so the bathroom was in a pretty bad way. Solidly built but nasty and OLD!

I decided a few weeks ago to RIP it out and start from the beginning.

First task was to move the hot water cylinder from in the bathroom to a new cupboard outside the room (thanks to Scruff from ultimatehandyman.co.uk for the advice!)

Now you see it...

Now you dont!

Ive taken quite a lot out..

CARNAGE

Well, I picked up a load of bits today..

Marmox goods and tiles!

New shower pump for the house too

Also have taken delivery of a taptile wireless light switch system Taptile - Ditch the switch one-touch mood lighting and dimming solutions for the bathroom and kitchen

6 astro glass downlights

an airflow icon15 extractor fan

and some Polk RC60i ceiling speakers

and a couple of remote water isolation switches about surestop

More bits arrive tomorrow.. i'll update this thread as I go along... im taking next week off to start the plumbing and install!

 

[davemul]

 

[davemul]

should have expected this but came as a shock... 2.5kg of grout to do just this mosaic tray!

need to get some more kerpoxy... today!!

god knows where in kent will have some

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Dave - despite all the preparation the final fixing of the tiles and subsequent grouting is what this job is all about.
As you have shown a warts an all account of the 'Bathroom project' you are to be commended for asking all the questions and using the information to put together an excellent thread.
However to offer what I hope can be taken as constructive advice - I think that the fixing of the mosaic in the tray could have been straighter and the first full tile on the second row of wall tiles from the tray is showing a lippage shadow that should be altered. As I'd previously posted my concern at the broken bond pattern you have chosen, this design pattern can be difficult to complete if the tiles are bowed.

 

[davemul]

taken as so John

Mosaics in the actual flesh look great.. i think my pony photo taking skills accentuate it a bit more than it really is. As for the lipped tile, indeed there is. That wall was VERY bad and I had a hard time getting it ironing board straight However again in the flesh its ok for me. Im not a pro and know that, and appreciate the constructive criticism mate. This is my first ever bathroom.. hopefully 2nd one will be better

 

[davemul]

and im out of grout. 10kg done. So me and the washboy are going to spend some time together!

will grab a few more tubs of epoxy this week and finish off the doorway and do the niches

then some silicone work and get the damn bath up here out of the front room!

 

[Tomtiler]

looking good dave

 

[Bolter]

Looks good dave! Are you pleased with it so far?

 

[davemul]

Looks good dave! Are you pleased with it so far?

very pleased mate, considering im just your average joe that sits at a desk.. i think its come on pretty well so far. It'll do me!

I HATE grouting though, worked that out today!

 

[Bolter]

very pleased mate, considering im just your average joe that sits at a desk.. i think its come on pretty well so far. It'll do me!

I HATE grouting though, worked that out today!

:lol: yea I hate it aswell

 

[Mike]

looking good dave, you could have made life a bit easier for yourself by putting service valves on the pipes, no need to switch the water off then when your fitting the basin etc. and less mess

 

[davemul]

I will be fitting them mike!

 

[Mike]

I will be fitting them mike!

i know you probably would but was saying it would have been easier to do it at the time of fitting the end caps/blanks then no need to switch the water off and risk a mess when connecting up

 

[davemul]

aah gotcha, its ok.. tanks in loft are drained already for something else im doing. Otherwise yes youre right, it would be a proper pain!

 

[Bathfix Bob]

You should be proud of yourself Dave I really like the bathroom.

One thing I learnt early on as a bathroom fitter was downlighters will highlight tile lippage, but if a tile won't push in anymore what can you do, take the tile off and hack away at the tanking? Ha ha...

Imagine after all your hard graft in that room if when you've finished you had to turn your back, walk away and never see it again!

Now you know how I feel.

 

[davemul]

True Bob, true!.. plus those marmox washers with tape over didnt help.. I think there was one right on the end of the lipped tile rrr:

anyway, back at work today, let that grout go off and then do some silicone work (JOY)

might cheat and grab some corner tape!

 

[Qwerty]

might cheat and grab some corner tape!

Do it Dave, its not cheating...... its just an aid to help you achieve a quality finish. If there is one thing in tiling that can let a quality job down, poor silicone application and finishing is it

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Good theory with the Cornertape - I got some to try to improve my silicone skills but was very disappointed with it, I've still got a roll knocking about (it was for some kitchen walls tho, so maybe a bit more fiddly than larger bathroom areas). Other opinions may differ obviously

But I don't think you can beat the old masking tape method

 

[Qwerty]

Good theory with the Cornertape - I got some to try to improve my silicone skills but was very disappointed with it, I've still got a roll knocking about (it was for some kitchen walls tho, so maybe a bit more fiddly than larger bathroom areas). Other opinions may differ obviously

But I don't think you can beat the old masking tape method

Cornertape is far superior to masking tape for numerous reasons. What went wrong when you used it. What size did you use.

I still use masking tape at times, but for speed you cant beat cornertape IMO

 

[davemul]

help required!

corner tape was USELESS.. i woul dhave done a better job applying silicone with my big toe!

long story short.. I need to remove ALL the silicone i put on.

thats 2 floor lengths and 2 walls! I am this close to throwing the towel in! I was fuming last night

this also cost me a new 40" tv.. new screen required!

can anyone help advise the best way to remove all the silicone so I can start again!?

 

[DHTiling]

I cannot see how you naffed up .. pics plz..

 

[davemul]

I did everything a la cornertape video (applying the tape took ages!) on removal of the silver tape, it took silicone with it and left massive walls of flappy silicone

then it all started to go off so it couldnt be saved

its a rip out re do job!

 

[davemul]

are there specialist 'silicone' people that I can call to come out and re do this for me.. i am that angry / wound up I dare not re try!

 

[jay]

Yes there are specialist in silicone .They call them tilers

 

[Bathfix Bob]

I'm a master with a silicone gun...

Get good quality Mapei or Dow corning silicone, silicone finishers (eg Karl Dahm, Fugenboys) and some silicone wipes.

Remove existing silicone with razor blade or knife and use sugar soap to remove grease, then apply a nice consistant bead of silicone. The nicer the bead at this point the better the result.

I use the Fugenboy set and the smaller of the three I use most of the time, I tend to wet the fugenboy a little and run it over the silicone holding it tight against the corners. If you have over applied the silicone then it will ooze out and smear up the walls, if that is the case keep cleaning the Fugenboy and go over it again.

It will give a clean crisp silicone joint, use the Wonder Wipes to carefully wipe away the smeared residue from around the silicone. Be careful not the contaminate the silicone with the wipes as it will affect the adhesion.

Dave you smashed your bathroom TV or was that a joke?

 

[Qwerty]

Dave, what happened. How did it take so long to apply the tape? Admittedly the corners where 3 lines meet can be tricky, but not too long at all. How long did you leave the silicone before smoothing, then pulling away tape, then any final finishing?

Im not looking at picking fault mate, just need to know so we can try and find out how it went wrong, and so others know what not to do.

My suggestion from what you state is that you may have left the silicone too long with the tape down which has made it semi-cure, hence the poor finish. Either that or it had already started going off when you smoothed it. Pics should show what went wrong matey

You really didnt smash the TV did you?

 

[Bathfix Bob]

I can imagine Dave slumped in a corner, unshaven with a bottle of vodka in a brown paper bag. Silicone really can drive people mad.

What I tend to do when siliconing say... a shower tray for example is to silicone the vertical tile to tile joint the day before and then the tile to tray joins the next day.

That way I don't drag wet silicone from the 3 way corner and spoil it. Even though I use Fugenboys I still find a wet finger tidys it up.

I was in a nice looking bathroom once and my eye was caught by something a miss in the shower, I opened the shower door and feasted my eyes on THE WORST silicone job I've ever, or will ever see.

It was 2 inch up the walls and had been applied with two fingers in an absolute total mess, it looked as though a child had just gone mad with a silicone gun.

 

[davemul]

Thanks Bob & Geoff! , ive got a mastic guy coming tomorrow to rip out the abomination and re do it. I cant afford to destroy any more TV's! :lol:

(was not the bathroom tv, that still hasn't arrived! it was the 40" sony HD in my 'lads den') REAL TEARS

 

[davemul]

I'm a master with a silicone gun...

Not near Kent are you Bob?? :lol:

 

[Bathfix Bob]

No Dave, Bradford.

Although if I was closer I don't think I dare come if there are 40" high def flat screens flying about the place!

Very Liam Gallagher!

Good thing you don't have a Rolls Royce, eh? :lol:

 

[jay]

any pics